Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Monday 5 June 1939, page 9


SIR PHILIP

SASSOON

Death in England

LONDON, Sunday.

Sil Philip Sassoon who had been first Commissioner of Works since 1937 died yesterday He had been ill for a month following an attack of Influenza He was aged 50 years

The Sunday Express understands that his body will be cremated and that as he had requested the ashes will be taken up in his private airplane and scat

tered over the airfield which he had built beside his country house at Trent Park A Royal Air Force squadron will provide

in escort

Politician art connoisseur and linguist Sir Phillp Albeit Gustave David Sassoon

was one of Lon-don's wealthiest bachelors Bom on December 4 1888 he was educated at Eton and Oxford He succeeded his father as third baronet in lil J and in that veai also sut cceded him is member of Parliament f o i Hythe a division which the familj had represented in Parliament for 40 years

Duimg the Gieat Wai he was piivate isecietaiyto rleld-Matshal Sir Douglas ¡Haig, Commandei-in-Chief of the British I at mies in France After the war Sir Philip jieturned to Parliament as private secre' tary to Mi Lloyd Geoige who was then | Prime Mlnistci m the coalition Govern-ment A competent speaker In nine languages, Sir Philip was invaluable at unpoitant international conferences He was knighted in 1922 and was appointed Under-Secietarj' of State for Air in the Baldwin Government in 1924 From 1931 he was in charge of the Ali Ministry in the

House of Commons

Always keenly inteiested in the An Force and civil aviation he paid mans visits to sqtiadions oveisea, and was honorai y ah commodore of the Counts of London Bomber Squadron of the Auxiliary Air Force

Sii Phillp Sassoon was almost as famous as a leading art connoisseur Ile was a

trustee of the National Gallery, the Wal-1 lace collection, the Tate Galleiy, and the i British School at rome His house in ' Park lane was famous foi its private gal-

lery of paintings and works of art ¡

He was devoted to charitable woiks md on moie than one occasion made sweeping alterations to his home to house art collections-and once n show of lin-

gerie-to assist charity_